Spiderwebs
by Miko Mandie
Summary: After a cruel slip of the tongue, Charlie learns the story behind Hermione’s scars and realizes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. CharliexHermione. One-shot.


**Authors Note**: I know this isn't the new Hermione x Draco story I promised you, but this idea just wouldn't get out of my head. This is my first time writing about Charlie and I know we don't get a lot of him in the series but come on, he works with Dragons! How cool is that? Any who, I hope you enjoy the story because I know I enjoyed writing it. Oh and before I forget, thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed my other stories! It's much appreciated! You all are lovely. xoxoamandanicole

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

_Warning: Semi-smut_

**Spider Webs**

_Charlie x Hermione_

1 of 1

_OOO_

Charlie Weasley grunted in pain as he watched his brother's best friend, Hermione Granger, work on his wounds. His whole left arm was aflame and right now he was seriously considering amputation. He knew he was being overly dramatic, but he was pissed that he had not taken every precaution to ensure this didn't happen. Even though the accident _wasn't _his fault; that was just rubbing salt into the already bleeding wound.

After six years of working with dragons and minimal injuries, his luck had finally run out. What made Charlie even more livid is that he wasn't taken down on the field. No, his injury was incurred while sitting in his cabin, while he made a cup of tea. One of the newbie dragon keepers had let a nesting ridgeback out of its pen and it had gone on a rampage. The dragon crashed five other cabins before finally reaching his. Its tail smashed through a pane-glass window and sent shards of needle fine glass all over the small kitchen. Thankfully, Charlie had thrown up his arm in the nick of time and it bore the brunt of the attack.

Even though Charlie's face was spared, his arm had suffered a great deal of damage. Which is why, three hours after the attack, he was laid up in his old room having hundreds of glass shards pulled from deep within his arm.

Charlie was pulled out of his reverie by Hermione's soft voice. "You're lucky that the glass didn't hit any arteries. Glass this fine has a nasty habit of digging deep into the flesh. And it appears that there will be minimal scarring." Hermione smiled as she delivered the news.

"Great, scarring, like I don't have enough shit to deal with." Charlie scoffed.

"Scars aren't that bad. I like to believe they leave behind stories." If possible, he thought her voice had become even softer.

"They're disgusting and you know it. People will latch on to any imperfection and strike Hermione. I wish I could be proud of them, but they will be a hindrance," Charlie said gruffly.

He stayed silent for a moment, just staring at his old desk from his Hogwarts days. It was piled high with random papers and old awards; most of which were for Quidditch.

He soon felt something warm, which he assumed to be blood, trickling down his arm. Seconds went by and the warm wetness was still running over his flesh. Charlie looked to Hermione, wondering why she stopped cleaning up the mess his wounds were making.

He was startled to find her crying silently. Her honey colored eyes were producing a steady flow of tears. When the crystalline droplets reached her chin, gravity pulled them towards his still bleeding arm.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked hesitantly.

She blinked, as if coming out of a trance and raised a hand to her eyes to wipe the offending tears. "Nothing Charlie, don't worry about it."

She continued to clean his wounds just as diligently as before. Dipping a white cloth into water, dabbing the wound, drying the torn flesh, repeat. This went on for five more minutes before Charlie actually took the time to observe the young woman sitting on his bed.

She had certainly grown up from the bushy haired girl that he'd seen in pictures Ron left laying around the burrow. She was short, possibly 5'2" at the most. While her hair was no less wild, but had lost some of the frizz. Her complexion had not changed, her skin was still lily white and there was not a blemish in sight. Pert nose, bowed lips and nicely colored eyes made for a generally pretty girl.

It was only when Charlie turned his attention to her neck that he gained insight to what caused Hermione's tears.

From right below her jaw-line to her collarbone, she was horribly scarred. The scarred flesh stood out pink against the pale shade of her skin. The marks crisscrossed down the majority of her neck creating a spider web design that could have been pretty if it had been carved into anything but her skin. Pretty wasn't the word though. The scars were hauntingly beautiful and tragic.

Her scars were thin like his, but Charlie was almost certain that his would not be as devastatingly pronounced.

He felt like absolute dragon shit. Charlie realized that he had indirectly called her marks disgusting. Here she was, spending her free time to ensure that he didn't have to suffer what she went through and he was complaining that people were going to pick on _him_. Charlie wondered if people picked on her scars. He imagined they did, but he couldn't see the little Gryffindor lioness taking shit from people.

But no matter how strong you are, if you are told something for long enough, then you tend to believe it. Maybe Hermione believed that she was disfigured. And he had just cemented her belief that her scars were unseemly. _Disgusting. _

"Hermione," Charlie began.

Hermione cut him off before he had the chance to finish, "Don't worry about it. It's nothing I haven't heard before. It hurts for a second, but you just have to suck it up you know. Things aren't going to change and I am just lucky to be alive. I would take the scars over death any day."

"It was still a stupid thing to say. I was speaking out of anger at myself and whined like a little baby hoping you would sympathize with me. People know not to listen to me when I'm hurt. My brain must have gotten rattled when that dragon rushed into my kitchen." Charlie reached over to pat her hand. "I didn't mean it Hermione. Trust me, you're scars aren't disgusting and I'm sure they tell a great story. Maybe someday you'll tell me?"

Hermione smiled. "Maybe someday Charlie." She was almost finished cleaning the glass out and once she removed the final sliver, she bandaged the arm up. "Now, be sure not to get your arm wet. Take showers, um, with your arm sticking out. It might not be convenient, but you'll thank me when your arm heals five times faster." She finished with a blush. He thought it was endearing that she would blush just mentioning him in the shower.

"I think I can do that healer," Charlie said with a wink; thankful for the lightened mood. "Come visit me tomorrow? I will still be here recuperating for a while and could use the company."

"I'll see what I can do Charlie." She smiled once more, picked up her medical supplies and left his bedroom.

Charlie sat in his bed for a good half-hour before he decided to call his little brother up for a chat.

_OOO_

"You're an absolute wanker you know."

"I know Ron. I didn't even realize the scarring until after I had opened my big mouth." Charlie looked into the cornflower eyes of his youngest brother. "What happened to her that would cause that much scarring. Why didn't I ever hear about it before?"

"Hermione doesn't like to complain about what she suffers with in life. As long as she is alive, she's happy. That's just, the way she is. When the accident happened she didn't want to make a big deal out of something _she_ decided wasn't a big deal." Charlie watched Ron run a hand through his tousled hair. "We didn't want to make her upset so mom tried her best to heal her and she moved on. Most of the time I think she forgets about them. Until some asshole ponce of douche bag mentions something to her." Ron gave Charlie a pointed stare.

"Lay off Ron, I didn't know. It's not like she's lost an eye or something. It's not glaringly obvious." Charlie looked at his bandaged arm and flexed his long fingers. "Do people actually, harass her about the scars." Charlie asked softly.

Ron released a deep breath. "Yeah they do. Girls are catty, little kids are too naive to understand what's proper to say, and men are jerks. So yeah, she has run into her share of jokes made about her. I think it's the worst when a guy says something. Hermione's not a vain girl by any stretch, but it's never nice to have your scars remarked upon when you're on a date. Some guys will just stare; others will mention them. It's never positive though and I know she feels unattractive."

Charlie and Ron sat in silence, both thinking about the amber-eyed young woman who had suffered so much.

"I'm a jerk."

"Glad you realize that."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I'll make it up to her. She said she'd try to come see me tomorrow. Hopefully she will.

"When Hermione makes a promise, she keeps it." Ron laid an arm on his brother's shoulder and then walked out the door.

Charlie smiled and pondered out loud, "She seems like a person who would."

_OOO_

Charlie was close to dozing off when he heard a light knocking on his door, "Come in."

He watched as Hermione entered his room wearing a soft lavender scoop neck summer dress that showed off her scars.

"I hope you don't mind me coming to visit you so late. I was held up at the hospital." She sat down on his bed, smoothing the material of the worn comforter with her tiny hand.

Charlie said the first thing that came to his mind. "Your dress is lovely," And watched as a bright blush crept across the apples of her cheeks.

Hermione brought her hand up to grasp the tiny gold locket that fell to the hollow of her throat. She nervously ran the slight charm back and forth on the chain. "Thank you. I though it was a little much when I bought it. But the color just seemed so cheery. It's good to wear bright colors when working with the children." Hermione smiled and Charlie knew she was thinking of time spent with the orphaned children she healed at St. Mungos.

Hermione's hands distracted Charlie as she fiddled with the charm on her necklace. " Who's in your locket? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, it's just my parents."

"Can I see?" Charlie beckoned Hermione closer to him by patting the bed closer to his torso.

She stalled for a second, but finally relented and moved closer towards the dragon tamer. "Come closer, I can't reach from here."

Hermione sat sideways on his bed, her bum resting against his hip and her legs hanging over the edge. She slowly lent down to give Charlie better access to her locket.

His warm fingers brushed against her skin as he picked up the gold trinket and pried it open. The pictured that greeted him was of two middle-aged muggles. They smiled and the woman, presumably Hermione's mom, placed a kiss on the man's cheek. "They seem like a lovely couple Hermione. They must have been special to bring up a girl like you."

She smiled. "I'm not special, but they are lovely people. I couldn't have asked for more understanding parents. I hope to have what they do someday."

"What's that?" Charlie questioned.

"They are so in love. And they loved me unconditionally. Someday I hope I have a family to love and people who love me back," She ran a finger over her scars. "No matter what."

Charlie reached towards the locket again. But instead of grasping the charm, he ran his calloused fingers purposefully over the tangled web of scars that decorated her chest. She gasped and tried to pull away, but Charlie wouldn't let her.

"I think your scars," Charlie paused to rest his palm flat over her heart, "Add to your personality and are a decoration. I don't see scarred flesh Hermione, I see a intricate web that doesn't subtract from the lovely woman you are."

Hermione remained speechless and Charlie could see tears gather on the tips of her lashes.

Charlie tugged lightly on her hand and Hermione fell forward bracing herself with one hand on his chest. Their faces were now inches apart and Charlie could smell mint on her breath. She surprised him by leaning forward to place her soft lips lightly on his own. It was a chaste kiss, but Charlie accepted anything she was willing to bestow upon him. She leaned down for a second kiss and Charlie met her halfway.

Their lips met slowly and luxuriously, barely ghosting over each other before they parted once more. Hermione sighed onto his lips and clenched her hand on his chest, unknowingly digging her little nails into his chest. Charlie grunted and she responded by sounding a little moan of her own.

To Charlie's delight, Hermione pulled back for a mere second and licked her lips before leaning down once more to capture his lips. This time, she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Running it along his own and tapping the tip of her tongue against his. Their tongues danced for a considerable amount of time before Charlie decided to take control of the kiss.

He leaned up on his elbows and pulled Hermione towards the middle of his bed, never once breaking the kiss. She leaned back against the mattress and reached up to place her hands around his neck. Charlie moved in between her thighs where Hermione cradled him, sliding her ankles up and down his well-muscled legs. He pressed his hips down as she arched up, creating an exhilarating friction.

Charlie watched as Hermione tilted her head back and released a small, breathless sound baring her neck to him. He placed his lips on her neck, sucking and nipping at the textured flesh. He deftly traced his tongue towards the hollow of her throat and placed a kiss there, never stopping the slight rocking motion of his hips.

He loved to see her come undone. Hermione released little mewls every time Charlie's denim enclosed hardness rubbed directly against her cotton covered core. Her fists would clench handfuls of his shocking red hair whenever Charlie decided to jerk his hips against hers, almost violently.

He kissed his way to the center of her chest. After pulling down one slight strap of her dress, Charlie kissed her bare shoulder before running his tongue over the top of her breast that had spilled from the bodice. He could see the rosy pinkness of one nipple trying to peek out at him. Without replacing the strap, Charlie placed his lips on hers again. His hand moved slowly under her skirt, up her thigh, towards her hip. He took the slight lace he found in his hand and tugged up. This caused Hermione's eyes to open widely. Charlie delighted in hearing his name on her lips and gave her full bottom lip a light nip.

She drew her knees closer towards her chest and Charlie could feel the heat radiating from her body. He slowly drew away moving his lips across her face. He kissed the tip of her nose, her cheek and finally trailed light nips towards her ear.

"Go out with me?" Charlie questioned breathlessly. He looked into her eyes and admired her blush for what must be the hundredth time. "I want to get to know you better. I want to share my stories with you and listen yours," He leaned down and tugged her earlobe into his mouth. "I want to show you my scars," Charlie whispered.

Hermione turned her head towards him and placed her lips onto his, "Okay."

"Really?"

"Really Charlie."

"That's good because I wasn't going to take no for an answer." Charlie ducked and evaded the small had that tried to swat his shoulder.

"You really are something else." Charlie moved off of Hermione's pliant body and smoothed down the skirt of her dress.

After he lay down again, Charlie brought Hermione forward to lean against his chest and entwined their hands together against his heart. He spent ten minutes stroking her curls and soon she was fast asleep.

Charlie decided that whenever he got back to Romania, he was going to hunt down the newbie dragon keeper responsible for this, and give him a promotion.

_OOO_

**End of Story Blurbs**: I hope you enjoyed this little foray into dragon tamer hotness :) I sure did. It's like 3:30 here in San Francisco and I just couldn't go to sleep with out getting this out of my mind. I am also taking requests for my next one-shot. I know I want to do another **DracoxHermione**, but I also know I want to try every Harry Potter guy at least once. Also, who out there is completely stoked for **Half-Blood Prince**! Another kick-ass trailer came out today and all I can say is the bad guys are looking pretty damn awesome. Don't get me started on the Inferi. It's going to be such a great 19th birthday present. Also, don't forget _day light savings_ time tomorrow!

_**(3:27:00 AM)**_


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